AVALIAÇÃO DE UM SOFTWARE PARA O ENSINO DE PESQUISA OPERACIONAL:UM ESTUDO DE CASO.

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the contributions that software, called LOPT calculator (calculator for Linear Optimization), can offer when used as a support tool for teachers and undergraduate students in solving problems of linear programming (LP ) through simplex algorithm. To this end, we performed a study on the use of computers in education, highlighting the importance of a given educational technology in pedagogical mediation. The approach used was qualitative and quantitative. Initially, the research development occurred with the application the software in a class of 11 students from Computer Engineering and Computer Science at PUC Goiás, considering a pilot sample this first step for this research. Then we constructed a questionnaire to evaluate the effectiveness software, which was the first result of this work. The questionnaire was applied in two undergraduate classes, setting the master sample consisted of 81 participants. The analyses and interpretation of data, through the bootstrap technique, generated strong evidence that the use of software to solve linear programming problems contributes significantly to the teaching and learning process of this discipline. This was considered the second result. It is proposed, given the results found, stimulate teachers and students interested in studying and solving LP problems to the use of the new computer technology, the LOpt calculator, as a tool to support the teaching and learning process in operational research.